The Valean Guard Volume 1:Cadia's Children
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: A story about the First Youth Regiment of the Imperial Guardsmen of Cadia, its last raised regiment, formed of Cadia's youngest prodigies of war. This story will follow the events of their lives upon reawakening in a new world and the ordeals they'll have to face, as both politics and hostile entities pursue them. Let it be known that our planet broke before we did-Lt. Telos
1. Prologue:Fall of Cadia

_You may have heard of Cadia... The Imperium's grandest colony and strongest Fortress world, save for Holy Terra itself..._

 _And how its might came to be tested... by the 14th Black Crusade of Abbaddon the Despoiler..._

 _What I am about to tell you, this story... It stems from my memories of our fight against the Chaos Warmaster and his Traitor Legion..._

 _And of the Evacuation of Cadia, as me and my people... My Regiment... Saw it._

 _I am Lieutenant Adrian Telos, First Cadian Regiment of Youth, the 'Children of the Storm', the youngest regiment to ever see combat, on our very own home soil._

 _I was barely out of officer school and assigned to lead this child platoon through its last months of training... Funny I should say 'child'... For a fact, I, myself, was a mere 17-year-old as these events unfolded and I was forced into command of an unfit regiment, with under-equipped, under-aged soldiers, ranging from 10 years to the age of 16, just a year below my own life... I came to lead these soldiers and weep for them as they fell, wield my blade with rage as the Chaos scum that poured out of the Eye of Terror took their lives... And as I was left with nothing short of 500 souls to command, one fourth of our original strength, we were at the forefront of evacuating our mothers and aging grandfathers, those who could not fight and were honorably discharged..._

 _Make no mistake... This is not a story of heroism. It is a story of strife, self-sacrifice and loss... And one of friendship, of revival and of REBIRTH as we transcended to a new world after our fights, where even more enemies awaited for us, as vile as the stain of Chaos... Or maybe one and the same? It was a strange place eitherway, uncharted, unknown... But one hell of a fight._

 _The Emperor Protects..._

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 ** _Play OST:Attack on Titan-Guren no Yumiya(English cover)_**

 ** _Cadia. Segmentum Obscurus, Cadian Sector, Cadian System. Hive City 12._**

"FIRE!" Cried the voice of a young Lieutenant as he brought his power sword down.

A cannonade of Bolters, Cannons and Las-guns echoed through the streets of the city. Angry crimson beams of superheated light and plasma tore through the skin and thin armor plating of Chaos Cultists of the Chaos Undivided. Behind them, dozens of Chaos Marines rushed ahead, wielding their Chainswords with hatred as they rushed toward the Cadians. The First Youth Regiment held the line alone in Hive City 12, with no hope of reinforcements and hundreds of civilians still left within the city. With them were adults who have chosen not to register as soldiers(The very few) and those that had somehow lived through their campaigns and managed to come home, to Cadia, for a short leave.

Hell of a Welcoming party, many could say...

"HOLD THE LINE, BOYS AND GIRLS!" Cried the Lieutenant, the youthful Adrian Telos, a boy with a near-shaved head, blonde hair and violet eyes, as he aimed his Las-pistol toward a traitor. He pulled the trigger and the beam of energy made the Chaos Cultist's pale, rotten skin bubble and burn. The creature's head exploded as its corpse fell, but a stumpy, smoking neck in the place of its head. You could no longer consider anyone who allied with the Chaos human. They were all vermin, traitors and daemons... Just the creatures these children were taught to kill.

Telos watched as a Berserker of Khorne's rushed one of the children in his unit, but a 14-year-old girl, his chain-axe revved and screeching as he raised it, firing from his bolt pistol. The girl crouched, braced and brought the bayonet of her rifle up as she continued firing, screaming in pure fear, or hatred, or both. The Lieutenant watched as the midsection of the Chaos Marine Berserker's armor was being heated by shot after shot. But to no avail, as the girl still had to use her bayonet. She stood up, cried a mighty battle cry, half-fear, half anger, then sent her bayonet through one of the thinnest cracks possible in the monster's armor. Blood spurted out as she pushed it, impaling the bastard deeper and deeper. He brought his Chain Axe down, ready to strike the girl and cut her in half, before his helmet boiled away and his head exploded.

Adrian looked up, to the sight of one of his marksmen, her mask and goggles covering her face, her helmet on her head and her eyes peering down the scope of her Long Las. He nodded to her, then watched as the last Civilians that were unable to fight were sent inside. The boy smiled, sighed, then nodded and yelled "HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER!" to his comrades as he drew his sword. The chaos bastards were finally close enough for him to start using his melee attacks. The boy jumped out from among the lines and brought his sword down, electrifying a Cultist and bisecting him. He snapped his Las Pistol back and shot twice. An enemy's head parboiled, then vanished, a crimson mist.

Two others joined him, slashing two other Cultists with their bayonets. The two soldiers ganged up on another Chaos Marine as bolter fire flew all around them and managed to stab him enough times to make him stop and consider them a threat. He took one by the shoulder, threw him to the ground, then brought his power armor's boot down onto the boy's chest, breaking his armor, ribs and collapsing his lungs. Blood foamed at his mouth as he struggled for to seconds, attempting to breathe, then fell dead, not another twitch.

The second Cadian, seeing his friend fall like that, decided it was best to, while his Lasgun was still in the bastard's armor, open fire. He powered up the weapon's supercharge, then opened fire. One, two, three shots had already melted partially through the plating his bayonet was lunged in. Two more good shots tore through meat and skin already. The Chaos Soldier ignored the pain, placing his Bolt pistol by the boy's stomach and pressing the trigger. Hellfire tore through his body and he got blown away, his body falling to the ground, limp.

Adrian had just witnessed two of his own get murdered by the very same Chaos Marine... No way he was gonna let that pass... The boy brandished his Power Sword, which flashed blue with purging lightning, then drew his Las Pistol and fired at the exposed skin of the creature, then, as he closed in, he sliced across its belly, gutting it, then poured the last remaining rounds of his Las clip into it. It finally died after the 30th shot, its armor thumping loudly on the ground. The boy looked back and up into the blue sky of Cadia, which was now turning crimson. The last two evacuation shuttles had left this city... This left _them_ without a way out.

He sighed and, with a heavy heart, ran back to the confines of his Regiment's defenses, then called "FIRST YOUTH! I AM CALLING A TACTICAL EVACUATION OF HIVE CITY 12, NOW! ALL CIVILIANS HAVE LEFT THE AREA AND I AM NOT LOSING MY FIRST COMMAND AND MY LIFE HERE! We held the line! It is time we move!"

"AYE AYE!" Cried the regimental soldiers. The Lieutenant immediately nodded to them, then said "ECHELON-BASED ADVANCE! TWO AND THREE MOVE FIRST WITH ONE PROVIDING COVER! THEN WE SWITCH TO TWO AND FINALLY, TO THREE! GET YOUR ASSES MOVING, NOW!" And the boy's Las-Pistol screamed in unison with the First Echelon's units, cutting through a Khorne Berserker's in a focused fire pattern, melting through the Daemonically-possessed man's armor within minutes and then boiling skin, bone and blood away, making the thing fall dead, but alas, 3 more joined in...

A shrill scream from behind them and a sword through the backs of their helmets and heads later, four Eldar Banshees jumped over the 3 enemy units and fired their Shuriken launchers at them. Telos growled, then said "WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR, WITCHES?!" as he cut another cultist's throat using his sword. The four, clad in white-green armors, didn't answer until after one of them had to reload her Shuriken Launcher pistol. She took her mask off, revealing the face of a beautiful woman, then said "We are here by orders! Our Fleets have been fighting with yours for long enough that our leaders brokered a truce! We are taking this one step further:" And she paused, decapitating three Cultists "We're helping you evacuate your doomed Fortress World!"

"Alas, a little too late, Eldar!" Said one of the soldiers, firing her Las Rifle. She ran toward them and said "All our Civilians are off of the planet!"

"But you are not!" The Eldar woman answered calmly, raising her pistol and firing by the Guard Girl's ear, this killing another cultist. She looked the girl in her violet eyes, then said "Lest you want to die here, without worth, I would suggest you allow us to help."

"Xenos scum..." Growled the woman, stepping up face-to-face with the Eldar Banshee and glaring daggers at her "A true Guardsman would willingly die for the Emperor, much more, to evacuate their own!" And she looked to Telos "Tell her, Lieutenant! Tell here we do not require their help!" to which the man placed a hand on her shoulder, then said "An old human saying goes something like this, Clara, 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'! If the Eldar actually desire to uphold their truce, let them die in our stead! I am not losing another one of you, you hear me!?"

The rifle girl growled, then looked to the Eldar girl and nodded "Dare aim your weapon at our comrades, Xenos..."

"You'll be the first I kill if it comes to that, Cadian." The witch answered, setting her mask back on her face. "Now, SHALL WE?"

The soldier smirked, cocked her Las Gun, then said "If we are to work together and not kill each other, the least I can do is outclass you in combat, Witch! Bring it on!" And she raised her rifle, aiming it toward the first Cultist in range, and fired, splattering his brains against the armor of a Chaos Assault Marine. The bastard traversed his heavy bolter toward the girl, before the Eldar Banshee rushed him and struck him down, by cutting his head off. Clara growled "Showoff" and rushed ahead. Adrian sighed, then said "Whatever..." As he raised his pistol and fired. The second and third echelons were inside, so he nodded and waved the first back in on the entry to the underground tunnels.

Within minutes, the whole First Echelon had retreated back inside the building, the Spire's Administratum building, and shut the door, barricading it with whatever they found. The massive hall allowed them enough room to move about and settle down, with the four Eldar removing their helmets and finding their own secluded corner to rest within. Telos sighed as he formed a council of 12 officers, to figure out what to do.

"The enemy forces amount to sixty times our strength, Lieutenant Telos." Said Sergeant Markath, crossing his arms. "We cannot hold out for much longer."

"This Administratum building should have a Teleportarium, should it not? Why not use that?" Asked a fellow Sergeant and squad commander, Koris.

"Are you insane, Sergeant?" Telos asked, crossing his arms. "Utilizing a Teleportarium without a good set of coordinates could lead us to be stranded in space, dead due to lack of Oxygen."

A corporal walked on-deck, saluted, then said "Sirs. The Techpriests have begun work on arranging the Teleportarium's coordinates, but await input from us. We've a set of communication relays here too, alongside cogitator interfaces, powerful enough to reach the ships in low orbit, those currently hammering the Chaos warband's vessels. Perhaps Lieutenant Telos should send a message? Ask the fleet not to leave us here."

Koris scratched his chin, then nodded and said "Perhaps, sir? Have a ship be stationary, under defense, while we and our equipment are hoisted out?" glancing toward Telos hopefully. The Lieutenant straightened himself up and glanced between his executive officers. He sighed, nodded and said "It perhaps is our only hope. Throne..." He took his canteen out, took the cap off and downed a swig of water.

"Hell of a choice to make, El-Tee." Markath hummed, scratching his chin. "Die down here or up there."

"Sirs, with all due respect, I say we take it." Clara chimed in, walking up to the meeting table. Markath looked to her, then scowled and responded angrily "Nobody asked you, trooper."

"I know, sir. But believe me... I want to get off this planet... Despite how much I fucking hate saying this, Cadia is _lost._ We either pull out now and survive to fight another day, perhaps AVENGE our Mother World by taking hundreds more of these Chaos bastards back to their 'GODS'..." She paused, staring at all of them "Or die here and now... Taking a few dozen with us... And perhaps losing more than just Cadia."

Koris gazed toward the girl, then nodded and said "Only in death does our duty end... But our duty is to defend humanity and Holy Terra itself." He then looked upon Telos, then spoke calmly "If it ended with us on our falling planet, we'd be lost to time. And with all due respect, sir, I prefer to be remembered as a man who fought outside of his homeworld in hope of exterminating Chaos... Consider my opinion as the Trooper's."

"I see..." Telos sighed, weighing in his options as he leaned on the table... He shook his head, thinking bitterly... Lose his entire command and himself for a doomed planet, be it their own... Or live to fight and murder every chaos fuck that was on this world to begin with later on... He decided. His gaze stern, strong and without folly or fear, he looked up "Get me a Vox and a cogitator console. Have a Techpriest link us to the closest ship to our location. FIRST YOUTH, WE'RE TO EVACUATE FULLY AND RETREAT TO THE NAVY'S RALLY POINT WITH THE SHIPS! STAND YOUR GROUND AND DEFEND THIS BUILDING TO THE LAST LAS PACK! Koris, you're going to speak to the Navy about possible positioning of a ship near by us. Alright, lads! Let's get to it!"

"YESSIR!" Chanted the Whiteshields, hauling their las-rifles and equipment to any defensible position they could find. Telos looked toward Markath, then asked "What of our vehicles? We had ten Leman Russes with us, as well as a single Stormblade Arkurian plasma destroyer and five Chimera transports, didn't we?"

"I'm still wondering why in the Emperor's name they would assign A PLASMA TANK DESTROYER to our units... Not that I'm complaining, sir." Markath smirked, then nodded and said "Aye. All Leman Russes and the Stormblade Arkurian are accounted for, same for the Chimeras, already prepared for transport. The Teleportarium modifications made by the Techpriests will allow the vehicles to move at once with us."

"Perfect. By the way... The Stormblade fell back because?" Clara inquired, looking at Markath. The man sighed, then said "It took a couple of hits. Required maintenance." making the young Clara sigh deeply, then nod and walk away. Sergeant Markath watched the woman step away, back to her team, her rifle leaned against her shoulder and sighed disapprovingly. Feeling a hand placed on his shoulder, he cocked his head back to see the Lieutenant staring at him. Adrian retracted his hand, then said "Let her be for once, Markath. She ain't done anything bad."

Markath sighed, then shot back promptly, but calmly "Disobedient of orders, gung-ho even more than your usual youngster, always breaks her bayonet or some other piece of gear, forcing the Techpriests to work on it and she is a very lazy girl. I wouldn't call those offenses 'nothing bad', Lieutenant."

"By the Throne, man... You should've applied as a Commissar Cadet." Adrian quipped, smiling at his old friend. Markath sighed, then responded wearily "Perhaps then I could shoot that woman for insubordination. Boy, would that make my life easier." to which the Lieutenant laughed, then hit him over the shoulder in a friendly manner and walked back toward the units setting up defenses. The boy saw the regiment's finest marksman drop down from the top of the tower and remove her rebreather, goggles and helmet to show the face of a beautiful, blonde young maiden, with bright blue eyes. She walked toward the Lieutenant, saluted and said bluntly "Sir."

"Marina. How'd the hunt go?" The LT asked calmly, to which the girl responded "38 Cultists killed. 3 Chaos Space Marine berserkers as well."

"Productive day, then." Adrian nodded to her, smiling. The girl responded with a simple tilt of her head, saluted and said "I will join the others... You should head and talk to Techpriest Illuminate." And with that, she walked away to join the defensive forces. Adrian sighed, then proceeded to walk through the building, toward a smaller altar-like item in the middle, surrounded by three Techpriests... Of which one bore the markings of Mars. Illuminate.

"Ah, Lieutenant." The Techpriest from Mars said in a partially robotized voice as he swiveled about, his strange ax in hand and his mechandrites raising. The man had a mask over his face, from which multiple pipes and wires ran, connecting to other parts of his body, under his strange cape/robe and hood and behind the cape, his eyes were shining burning orange. "It is good to see you've chosen to visit us, finally."

"How goes the adjustments to the Teleportarium? It won't turn us to mush or vent us out into space, will it?" Adrian glared at the Adeptus Mechanicus members. Illuminate shook his head and responded calmly "No. We've adjusted for such... Possibilities, for all of us and our vehicles. But the power drain is going to... It's going to be a problem. It may burn out this Teleportarium's circuitry and kill whatever Machine Spirit is inside it..."

"It's our only way off the planet, what with the navy fighting above us unable to deploy evacuation Valkyries." Adrian responded, almost absentminded. Illuminate nodded, then said "Yes, yes... We're aware. Have you contacted our fleet about the possibility of a stationary ship? We need VERY accurate coordinates."

"I've got Koris working on it." The man said, readying his weapon... Hearing the clashing of boots and stone, he looked back to see Koris, with a smile on his face as he skidded to a halt in front of him. Snapping a salute, the Sergeant promptly reported "The vessel _Redeemer of Faith_ is awaiting at given coordinates. Locked on VOX Channel five-three, Auspex coordinates sent to the Techpriests' gear."

"And it has been received fully." The Techpriest jovially reported, nodding to them... "Give us three more minutes to set up the link to the ship's Teleportarium and we shall be off this planet!"

The thundering sound of doors being hammered by battering rams sounded off, as well as the cries of thousands of Chaos fiends outside. Adrian gasped, drew his las pistol and sword and said "You have one, Techpriest! Make it count!" And he rushed out, placing a whistle in his mouth as he ran through the hall. He blew the whistle, letting a shrill screech sound off as all troops jumped to their feet and quickly readied their equipment. The Banshees of the Eldar soon jumped to their feet, unsheathed their swords and rushed to join the defenders.

Telos loaded up his pistol, power sword and Vox com and looked ahead at his men, setting up the Autocannons and Bolter Guns, aimed toward the surrounding doors. He watched his Sergeants settle into cover beside their troops, then planted the sword into the floor in front of him and saw them all swivel about, looking toward him. The young Lieutenant now had to inspire his men... 500 souls that counted on him to make this matter, that counted on him, either to keep them alive, or to have them fight to a most honorable death. He inhaled...

... then spoke...

"The First Regiment of Youth... A name given to the 777th Cadian Whiteshields, by our glorious Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed... to us! A bunch of no-good trainees and kids forced into the fight of our lives on our home... We're facing the vile spawn of Chaos, the traitorous Black Legion and its armies... Eldritch abominations that one wouldn't dare fathom... We've faced them throughout the fifteen-day siege upon this Hive... And upon its grounds, One thousand five hundred souls of our Regiment died, leaving us at one fourth of our group's strength. 1500 Children died so we could keep up a steady defense... 1500 Soldiers sacrificed their lives for us to live and see ourselves upon a grand last stand!" He said grimly, watching dozens of his men shift uneasily as they readied their Las Guns with the knocking on the doors becoming louder, more incessant.

"It is up to us to avenge their deaths and to honor their sacrifices. Our enemy is numerous, vastly powerful and deadly... But the Emperor watches over us, brothers and sisters of the First Youth! This is the same enemy we've slaughtered through at the start of the siege! We may be outnumbered and outgunned, BUT BY THE EMPEROR, WE ARE NOT OUTCLASSED OR WITHOUT SPIRIT! The enemy is vile, treacherous, a dishonorable bunch of scum from the Hell of the Eye of Terror, that filthy pit which they call a home! WE ARE WATCHED BY THE EMPEROR AND HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, WITH EYES FULL OF HOPE! Let us show them that humanity, even in its frailest form, can prevail against Daemon and foe! Let us leave Cadia alive... And proceed to avenge EVERYONE lost in its defense... I LOOK UPON YOU AND I SEE STRONG SOULS! PROVE ME RIGHT IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE! DO NOT FALTER, DO NOT RETREAT 'TILL WE CAN EVACUATE... AND BURN THESE HELLSPAWNS OF CHAOS TO THE FUCKING GROUND!" he exclaimed in the end, raising his sword and powering it.

"HOO-RAH!" Cheered the Regiment happily, loading up their weapons. Adrian grinned, then nodded and said "READY FOR BATTLE?" to which the Regiment promptly responded "AYE, SIR!" and the sounds of charging weapons sounded off. He nodded to them, then said "VERY WELL! SHOW THEM THE MEANING OF CADIAN HELL!" And unholstered his las pistol, jumping down to join the others. He ran and took cover at the front, right next to some hastily-set up sandbag walls, kneeling with both weapons in his hands. The hammering on the door became constant, deafening... Soldiers twitched, shouldering their Las weapons and manning the gun emplacements, Lascannons, autobolters and autocannons, some trembling, others glaring daggers at the doors, mentally preparing themselves...

The sounds of banging stopped suddenly and only the sounds of gunfire outside echoed, as well as engines. The Techpriests' tools hummed, thrummed and whispered as they worked on setting up the precision teleportation... When a sudden explosion rocked the building, shattering two doors. Silhouettes emerged from the main door of the building, giant and small and one raised its chain-ax and screamed "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! ANNIHILATE THEM ALL! MAIM, KILL, BURN!"

Lasgun, autocannon and assorted firearms screamed, forming a wall of crimson light, shells and bolter rounds. The first line of Chaos Cultists, alongside five Chaos Berzerkers, were gunned down, almost entirely vaporized by the combination of lead and high-powered particle lasers. Screams of pain, of anguish and defeat, sounded off as Cultists fell, gutted by lasers and Chaos Marines, by lead and explosive rounds tearing their armors apart. This swiftly set-up defense would come at the finest moment. Chaos Marines began pouring through, more and more of them, forcing Adrian to join up in Close Quarters Combat. The boy immediately separated one's head from his body by a simple sword slash.

The screaming of the banshees muffled the gunfire as they rushed in, blades shining blue with flaming energy. The first two of the four made contact, searing through the enemy armor with constant attacks, slashes and stabs. Chaos Marines responded by swinging chain-axes and chain swords at them, as well as their rifles and knives, but far too slow for the Eldar Banshees to even struggle in dodging.

A slash across a Traitor's stomach, a las bolt to the head of a cultist and a kick that broke a leg to another, Lieutenant Telos fought, covered by the enemy's blood, both his blade and his body, as he fought beside the Eldar witches. The clanking of metal against metal and sizzling skin. The swords burned through the exposed midsections of the cursed ceramite power armor with ease.

Las and heavy weapons' thunder, the screams of perishing foes and the sounds of engines and cannons outside meant the battle took up a larger size than originally expected. The thundering steps from outside didn't bode too well for anyone. Looking up in a conjoined moment of stupor, the squadrons of Chaos Worshippers and Loyalists gazed upon the sight of a gigantic armor, clad in black colors with golden trimmings and outlines... As well as golden claws. The man within the armor had his head poking out, one with a strange black ponytail on top of his head... As well as pale skin and crimson eyes.

"So... This is what our army is stuck upon... A bunch of children?" Abaddon the Despoiler spoke, glaring toward the squadrons. "CEASE YOUR ATTACK! Let's see if these children are going to be of some use..." and he pointed forward toward the regiment, of which most were slowly stepping back, raising ther weapons and aiming them... Adrian swore behind his breath several times, angrily, as he stared at the bastards. Looking back at the Teleportarium, he made a few hand signs toward Illuminate. The ADMECH member gasped, eyes wide... But a stern look soon overtook him. He nodded and spoke quietly to his fellow comrades as Chaos converged, under sound of fire from tanks. Plasma burned through a line of Chaos outside, stopping dead into a wall and vaporizing the building that was there.

"The fuck is Abaddon the Despoiler doing here?" Clara growled in a lowly tone beside Markath, who had his bolt pistol and chainsword drawn. The Sergeant scanned his surroundings, then answered promptly but silently "Perhaps he's here to see what the holdup is. I mean, we're keeping some probably major Chaos forces occupied... What's the LT's plan, I wonder..."

"He has signaled the Techpriests to sabotage the Teleportarium..." Marina whispered calmly, receiving shocked gazes from the Corporal and Sergeant... Markath looked toward the Chaos Forces attacking them, then sighed and said "We die, but we take a hundred Chaos Marines with us. It seems fair enough." and Clara sighed, raising her Lasgun and firing, then answered to her old friend "Least I get to die being the annoying bitch that I adore being..." with a smirk. Markath sighed, nodded and said "Yes, perhaps... And I'm going to die as that one Sergeant that is too stern, too serious for his own good, am I not?"

The Chaos soldiers parted, allowing for Abaddon to step up ahead only to go face-to-face with Lieutenant Telos, staring at the young man calmly, like he was nothing but a bug. Adrian stood, defiant, wielding both his pistol and sword, looking at the Chaos Warmaster as his steps thundered toward him. Towering over the boy, Abaddon found the need to stare down at him.

"And whom might you be, young soldier of Cadia?" The Warmaster asked in a strangely kind voice. Adrian growled, then responded sternly, his grip tightening around his weapons "I am Lieutenant Adrian Telos, of the First Cadian Youth Regiment... What is it you desire, Heretic?"

Abaddon could not help but chuckle at the boy. "What an ignorant young fool... They've filled your head to the brim with the Imperium's propaganda too. I am here to offer you a choice, child. That of saving your pitiful regiment of kids from an almost certain doom. Interested?"

Adrian snarled "You're asking us to join you and your bastard traitor legion?!" watching Abaddon glance toward his soldiers. The young Lieutenant was beginning to sweat. He glanced back toward the Techpriests, of which Illuminate gave a simple, slight enough nod for only the Lieutenant to pick up. The boy looked back to the Chaos-corrupted bastard and responded to his request "We'd all rather die, Traitor..." And he gave the Chaos bastard a devilish grin "NOW, TECHPRIEST ILLUMINATE!"

Markath looked at everyone, then yelled "THE EMPEROR PROTECTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS! DIE WELL!"

"What!?" Demanded Abaddon angrily. He looked back at the techpriest, shocked to see him linking two wires together and whispering a prayer. The two wires clicked together, to which Abaddon growled and merely teleported away himself. A shockwave of blue light and energy surged from the linking of the wires and Teleportarium, enveloping both the Loyalist Imperials and the Chaos Forces, including their vehicles. The Chaos Marines vaporized almost immediately, alongside the cultists and all their engines of Heresy... But, somewhere within this blue light... Another goddess was watching the Eldar and Guardsmen...

 _It is not your time yet, young ones..._

* * *

 ** _AN:YES. ANOTHER RWBY/Warhammer story... This one basically focused on an ENTIRE REGIMENT of Guardsmen, rather than just one young man and his endeavors. It is going to be orbiting around Adrian Telos' development within this story and is most likely gonna start the same way ASKADR started, so if you enjoyed that, you'll definitely enjoy this story, considering how much more 'in-depth' the Counter-Insurgency operations part of the story is gonna be. Anyways, 'till next time...  
_**

 ** _TOODLES~!_**


	2. A strange encounter

His hands clasped around his sword, Lieutenant Telos stumbled to his feet. His eyes just wouldn't open and his head was thumping, a massive pain. Good... Meant he was alive at least. Slowly, but surely, he regained his composure and managed to pry his eyes open. He glanced to the right... Nothing but forest. To the left... Open road? Above, clouded sky... And forward...

"Marina..." The boy exhaled happily. "Good to see..." She cut him off by lifting her left-hand index. She was focused. Aiming down the sight of her sniper rifle toward something. Feeling a hand plant on his shoulder, he soon found himself pushed down behind a set of bushes. Looking to his side, he then saw Koris there, Lasgun in hand and Chainsword sheathed on his back and showed him to be quiet. "Good to see you up and runnin', LT, but we just have a lil' problem off to the left."

"How long was I out?" Whispered the Lt toward his NCO.

"Five-ish hours, sir..." Responded the Sergeant in a whisper. "Good to see you're up. I and Marina managed to link up about 3 hours ago and we found you. Auspex scans show the others landed scattered around us..." And he held up the small, handheld device. "Tried the Vox, but I'm getting lots of white noise." Finally, he pointed toward the road, where four figures lay. Three apparently fighting one. "That's what Marina's scoped in before you woke up, sir. Seems like some bandits trying to rob one of the local rich girls..."

The two turned toward a olive-skin girl being held down by two weirdly-dressed goons, one of which had a darker skin pigmentation, as another woman, with long raven hair that went over her left eye and was caught in a bun at the back. She also wore a red dress and looked somewhat young... Untouched... But the white glove she had on her hand. It looked like it had the symbols of Chaos scribbled all across it. Adrian gasped, unsheathing his sword and pistol, then he glanced toward Marina. She nodded to him, then set her finger on her trigger gently, as the muzzle emanated steam. She'd set it to supercharge, for what reason he couldn't tell.

The boy then focused on the glove as the woman extended her hand toward the girl they held down. The girl was clad in rustic, almost feudal clothing and looked unarmored. Her brown, chin-length hair had burn marks, ashes, cinders in it. The boy watched the glove as a strange, crimson portal formed in the middle of it... Then growled. He nodded to Marina and the girl responded by tensing her finger and slowing her heart rate via breathing. She waited for that perfect moment between heartbeats, then, as it appeared... She shot. A beam of crimson energy lanced out angrily toward the woman's hand, shattering what seemed to be a little beetle with a white shell and black legs, as well as crimson eyes. The glove caught ablaze on the woman's hand, making her scream loudly, pained by the palm burn, and throw her glove away.

"Koris, let's go..." Adrian smirked, jumping up. The man nodded and both brandished their weapons, then rushed ahead. Two bolts of laser hit the two lackeys in the backs, making them stagger and drop the girl they held hostage. She grinned, then sent two punches, one in the emerald-haired, dark-skinned girl's chin and a swift one in the boy's balls, making him cringe. The two swordsmen dashed toward the last woman, who stopped writhing and drew her swords and parried the strikes from their raised blades.

She growled, palm still burning, then said "Who the hell are you?!"

The Lieutenant smirked, then said "We're the Cavalry, love." Before sending a sweeping kick and knocking the woman off her feet. Koris proceeded to give her a kneecap right in the jaw, sending her tumbling upward instead of landing on her face. She fell back a few inches away from where they were, nose bloodied. She slowly stood up, growling and glaring daggers toward them. She snarled, then cried a battle cry of hatred and rushed ahead, slashing with her swords. The soldiers parried each strike with tenacity, also applying their own, either from Las Pistol or sword themselves. The woman found herself forced on the defensive and, with her goons being pinned down by Long-Las sniper fire and the girl they just rescued, things were going swimmingly.

Sparks flew as blades collided and crimson laser plastered against the young woman's body, leaving burns and scars that healed all-too-suddenly for the young soldiers' liking. Adrian slashed underneath the woman's sword, only for her to bring it about and parry the strike. She seemed adept at fighting two people at a time. Fighting in general, really. The two boys exchanged glances and Adrian asked Koris "How much longer till the others triangulate to our position?"

"They've already done it, sir. I imagine Illuminate's Techpriests aided with that." Smirked the Sergeant, proceeding to deliver a swift kick to the woman's stomach. "I've got a small vox communique through in the end... We may soon be seeing our armored column comin' in." he then calmly finished, looking to Adrian. The Lieutenant grinned, then nodded and said "Very well done."

The two promptly continued their bladed assault against the woman who attempted to attack them and their HVT. She caught a glimpse of her two goons being held down by their target and the sniper in the forest. She scowled angrily, then swiftly sent two more blade strikes toward the two boys, who deflected each attack and proceeded to quickly deliver a double kick to her stomach, sending her skidding against the dirt road, her weapons out of her hands. She growled, attempting to stand up, before feeling a boot planted upon her chest and a blade by her throat.

"Wouldn't move if I was you... Our reinforcements are comin' and you may wanna stand the fuck down before they turn all three of you into nothing but a bad memory." Adrian smirked toward the growling woman. She attempted pushing off his leg, but failed due to how strongly it was implanted into her chest. The woman, from her position, could feel the ground shuddering below her... And... Looking to her left, down the road, her eyes widened in shock... A massive column of armored vehicles and what seemed like hundreds of soldiers emerged, some from the Forest, others from the road, with a GIGANTIC battle tank, in a casemate style and with huge treads, what looked like a literal groundside mobile fortress, advancing toward them, its main cannon shimmering blue and emanating steam.

Soldiers clad in similar green uniforms to Adrian's and Koris' approached and the Lieutenant heard the girl they rescued exclaim loudly, both in fright and shock "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FFFFFFFFUCK!?" to which the boy smirked and said "IMPERIAL ARMORED SUPERIORITY, AT YOUR SERVICE!" as the Chimera troop transports rolled off from the side and split off from the main armored column, advancing toward the target position. The woman below his boot looked toward the emerald girl, who was slowly losing blood and who looked beaten and yelled "EMERALD! DO IT NOW!"

The green-haired girl nodded to her commander, then growled and closed her eyes, holding them tightly... A bright flash of white blinded the Cadians, knocking two off their feet... And before Adrian had a chance to react, as his vision cleared, he saw the trio had vanished, leaving only the hunted girl alive and staring at their armored company, eyes wide. The Cadian Officer exhaled, nodded to her, then said "Sorry for the show of force, ma'am... We, Cadians, aren't really big on people being harassed."

"El-TEE!" He heard a voice cry. Looking back, he saw Clara, Markath and the Techpriests having disembarked a Chimera and walking toward him and Koris. The blonde girl smirked, her rifle leaned against her shoulder, then said "Looks like we ain't dead yet, are we sir?" as she gripped her rifle with both hands. She looked toward the rescued girl, then nodded and said "The El-Tee and his team treat you well, ma'am?"

"U-Uhm... This is too much for me, guys... Slow down a minute..." She admitted, mouth agape at the Stormblade Arkurian. "Let me take this up right... And correct me at whatever I'm wrong:You guys are an armored regiment, with a gigantic fucking battle tank an several smaller ones, as well as combat transports... All of you seem far too young to serve in the Military just yet... And you have LASER WEAPONS... FUCKING LASER WEAPONS... AS STANDARD ARMAMENT..."

"That's right... What, it's a foreign subject to you? Do you lot still use autoguns?" Clara asked with a chuckle. She saw no response from the girl, then sighed... Hearing several dozen Las Rifles being turned to meet a new contact, the group heard running. Looking back, Adrian saw a rugged, tough-looking man approaching them. He had a cape that was red on the inside and black out, ripped at the end and he looked rather old. Maybe in his 30s or 40s. Adrian raised his pistol, stopping him before he reached the girl, then barked "Halt! Identify or we will kill you!"

The man, panting, looked toward the Lieutenant and said "Look, kid... I'm here to get Amber to safety..." And he pointed toward the girl they rescued "Sorry I was late, Amber... Got kind of caught up with all these green folks around me pointing..." He coughed "Pointing their guns at me." to which Adrian growled and said "I pray to the Emperor you've hurt none of'em, because if you did, you're about to be absolutely murdered."

"Easy, Rambo..." The man responded, pushing his pistol away angrily "I didn't harm any of your Starship Troopers, but for Oum's sake, you guys need to learn to properly greet someone!"

"Guys! Guys!" Amber said, stepping between them "Can we just be friends, please!?" She looked to the old man "They rescued me Qrow! Some bitch was about to do god knows what to me!" And then she swept over to Adrian "And you. This old guy's my guardian. He was a little late because of a little mishap behind us and now, with your lot pointing weapons at him. You seem like reasonable people, so can we please NOT do something either side's gonna regret?!"

Adrian and 'Qrow' exchanged glances, then the Lieutenant nodded and extended his hand "I'm Lieutenant Harper. Commander of the 1st Youth Regiment." to which Qrow shook his hand and said "Name's Qrow Branwen, Huntsman. Do you mind if I make a call? I need to get me and Amber transport back to Vale... A city nearby."

"Got it." Nodded Adrian. "Go right ahead. I'll talk to my soldiers." and he rushed up to the massive cathedral tank and climbed it, picking up Clara, Markath and Koris. He smirked, looking about at his troops, then yelled loudly "GUARDSMEN!" making the five hundred present snap-to, saluting proudly and chanting "SIR!" In unison. The Lieutenant nodded, then continued "Seems like all of us made it off our little endeavor and, I hope, relatively unharmed, what with a Teleportarium exploding in our faces and some hundred Chaos fucks surrounding us!" and he heard assorted chuckles and a light laugh from Clara, who was still saluting. His grin widened as he continued "But considering what I saw here, Chaos ain't done with us by a long shot... That woman and her two goons that just vanished are, however, easy targets... Only human... And let me tell you something, girls and boys of the First Youth!" He pointed his sword around at each and every one of them around him "We are not just going to kill those Heretics and whomever serves them... We're gonna cut out their Chaos-damned living guts and use them to grease the treads of our gigantic fucking tanks!" And he raised his sword "WE'RE GOING TO MURDER THOSE FUCKING HERETICS, BY THE BUSHEL-FUCKING-BASKET!"

"HOO-RAH! HOO-RAH! HOO-RAH!" Chanted the regiment, raising their rifles despite how uncomfortable it made Amber and Qrow feel. "FOR CADIA!" Clara yelled at the top of her lungs, proudly raising her rifle. The others responded by chanting "AND FOR THE EMPEROR!" swiftly. Adrian's grin was near inhumanely huge as he spoke onward "Alright, now you beautiful sons-of-bitches... Now we all know how we feel... And I'll be proud to still lead all of you wonderful guys and girls through hell and back! To your stations and let's fucking get this show on the road!"

"AYE AYE!" The regiment cried in unity and each scrambled to their posts. Engineers moved at the front, Techpriests moved to secure their vehicles and repair any damage and some of the wounded boarded the vehicles. Qrow and Amber watched the Command squad jump down and walk toward them, Adrian with a smirk on his face as he sheathed his weapon. The boy nodded, then said "Let whoever is waiting for you in Vale know... You're coming in with an escort." And he pointed to a Chimera "Take that Chimera. I'll have Koris secure two seats for you and we'll be aboard the Stormblade... Emperor Protects." He nodded to them and walked away, followed by Clara, Koris and Markath.

"What~ the fuck did we just witness?" Amber asked worriedly...

"I... I don't even want to know... Let's just go." Qrow said, turning toward the Chimera and walking toward it. "I'll call Ozpin when we're aboard... C'mon Amber."

* * *

 _ **PATTON SPEECH, BOIII.**_


	3. A Beacon for the Weary?

_**Beacon Academy Headmaster's office...**_

Atop the clock tower of the Beacon Academy, the most prestigious Vale school for training Huntsmen and Huntresses into good warriors, a blonde woman, clad in a teacher's outfit, with her hair caught in a bun and glasses on her nose, through which her emerald eyes peered, walked back and forth in the room of many gears and noises, with a desk in the middle, right behind the window to the clock. The room was extravagant and overlooking the entire Beacon campus, unsurprising, considering whom it was destined for.

Headmaster Ozpin, an older man with silver hair and sunglasses, amber eyes and a green and black outfit, with a bright green scarf that had his emblem, that of cogs, on it, merely stood seated behind his desk, calmly sipping from his coffee mug as the clicking of Glynda Goodwitch's heels against glass continuously sounded off. The Headmaster sighed, then placed his cup onto a support beside him and looked at Glynda, interlacing his fingers and placing his hands on his desk.

"What is taking Qrow so long to call?" The woman wondered aloud in an annoyed tone as she continued her back and forth.

"I would worry less, Glynda. We both know how field work can be." Ozpin assured his colleague. Glynda sighed, arranging her glasses on her nose, then said "Yes, but... It's been two weeks since his last call."

"He's been out of contact for longer than that." Ozpin then said "And yet he still called."

"This time it's different. This is Autumn we're speaking of." Glynda retorted. Just as Ozpin was about to respond, he heard the telltale ringing of a scroll and placed his onto the desk, turning on a screen. Qrow's face emerged across the screen, the battered old drunkard he was, covered by dim, crimson light and with the sound of engines from the outside. Glynda went by Ozpin's side as Qrow smirked and said " _Good to see you both. I've got news relating to Amber. She's fine."_

Glynda sighed in relief, a massive weight felt like it'd been lifted off her chest. Ozpin knew not to relax yet, as he asked "Anything else, Qrow?"

The Huntsman sighed, then added " _You won't believe who rescued her..."_

The old man panned around, to the sight of twenty-two other soldiers, sitting with them, clad in heavy armors and with heavy rifles in hand. They exchanged small-talk between each-other as far as Ozpin could see, but the place was too darkly lit. Qrow immediately panned back upon himself and Amber and said " _We met up with some kind of army unit on the way to Vale. They're not Atlesian and definitely aren't our boys. Hell, the Vale army was retired a couple of decades ago... These guys call themselves Cadians."_

"I see... Was the First Contact with them hostile?" Ozpin said, uneasily glancing toward the Cadian sitting next to Qrow. The old man shook his head, then said " _We pointed weapons at each-other, but resolved the dispute with nobody getting shot... Aside from the guys who attacked Amber."_ and, suddenly, the drumming of palm against armor sounded off from beside them. Panning back toward the Cadians, he saw one of them hitting her kneepads with her palms to a swift rhythm. The group aboard began calmly singing

" _Over hill, over Dale, we've just hit the dusty trail as our Chimeras go rolling along! Call to arms, Hold your ground! Hear our hardy soldiers shout, as our Chimeras go rolling along! For it's hi-hi-hee, in our Mobile Company! Call out your numbers loud and strong"_ and the girl who was patting the rhythm yelled " _Two, Three!"_ then the unified singing began aloud again _"And where'er we go, you will always know, our Chimeras go rolling along!"_

The happy song continued onward as Ozpin looked back to Qrow, who shrugged with a smirk. " _We should talk later! We'll get back to Beacon within three hours, then you'll be able to greet us!"_ to which Ozpin nodded and said "Very well, Qrow. Take care on the road and don't anger the soldiers. See you here soon..." And he closed the call before the man could say another thing.

"An army?" Glynda asked herself worriedly, looking at the photographic shots taken from aboard the craft. Soldiers that looked really young, but were clad in heavy armor, carrying heavier armament than many other troops from Remnant... And from the size of the troop transports' insides, these vehicles must've been massive. 24 people available aboard? The Headmaster sighed and said "We'll meet them and assess them then... But if they helped Amber, they must be some kind of allies."

* * *

"Huh..." Qrow sighed, closing his Scroll and looking off to his left, toward Amber "He hung up on us."

"Not surprised. Must have a LOT to take in with our current situation." Amber nodded. She then glanced toward the girl who was singing and Yelled "Oi!" making the girl swivel about, to reveal a fairly young face... Too young for Amber's liking. The girl nodded and said "Aye! Need anything, miss?" in a thick northern accent. The girl nodded and asked "Two-parter question:First, How old are you? And Second:You guys need someone to guide your armored Column? Qrow knows the exact location of where we need to go!"

"Answer to One:I'm 13! And Answer to Two:Sure! Old man can get in the front with the drivers and gunner!" The girl smiled and nodded. Amber's eyes widened and she found herself needed to ask "Wait, WHAT?! I think I heard that wrong! 13?!" To which the trooper nodded and said "Aye! 13! Bloody young, I know, but that's how Cadians do stuff! Early age or bust!" And she nodded to Qrow to go ahead. The man stood up, untying his safety harness, and walked to the front of the vehicle, pushing open a door, going through and closing it behind him.

"So you said you're thirteen..." Amber wearily said, to which the Guard girl nodded happily and said "A long-standing military tradition with us is to have children from the ages of 10 up enrolled in Conscript Regiments such as what ours was before we were turned into a real combat unit, what with the abnormal amount of enemies of man we have to face." and she looked toward Amber "Hey. What planet are we on, anyway?"

Amber blinked, clearly confused "I'm sorry?"

"What planet're we on, miss?" The girl repeated, somewhat confused. How would the woman before her not know her own planet? "You know... What Sector and stuff. I mean, we've got to be in Imperium space, what with the Humans around us... Even those Heretics..." She finished bitterly, having nearly spit out that last word. Clear she hated whatever their meaning for 'heretic' was.

"Uhm... Remnant." Amber responded. "I... Don't know the Sector or anything like that."

"Never heard of Remnant. And I've studied the Star Maps of the Imperium a few dozen times." The Guard girl admitted, looking at her las gun happily. "What's an Imperium?" and to that question, the girl snapped her head toward Amber and responded "You don't... The Imperium of Man, the mightiest force in the galaxy! Spanning a million worlds and with trillions of souls under its command, ruled by our lord and savior, the God Emperor of Mankind! We come from Cadia... Its former fortress world and mightiest defender, save for Holy Terra in itself." and the girl looked a bit saddened, speaking of Cadia.

Amber processed... And processed... Mouth agape, she still processed, but started to make sense of... "SWEET VALE PASTRIES DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE, YOU'RE FROM FUCKING OUTER FUCKING _SPACE_!" the girl exclaimed in a near-shriek, blushing clearly through the red lighting of the transport vehicle and making everyone aboard cringe, covering their ears. Amber continued to fangirl, grabbing onto the Cadian girl's collar with a wide smile "D-Does that mean Humanity's advanced through the stars? C-Could we be discovered in time by your Imperium?! AND MAYBE INDUCTED?! I ALWAYS WANTED TO VISIT OTHER PLANETS!"

The 13-year-old laughed awkwardly, grabbing calmly onto the wrist of Amber, then nodded and said "Sure... We can hope so." and she saw Amber back away and pump her fists up with a victorious squeal of joy. The Corporal exchanged glances with the other Cadians aboard this ship. Two boys shrugged, the officer aboard (A Lance Corporal) tilted his head and shrugged too while the heavy weapons team merely continued checking their Autocannon for any damage.

"By the Emperor..." Sighed one of the heavy weapons soldiers. "If all the people of this planet will be like this, I can't imagine living here until we get rescued."

The girl chuckled, then said "Chances are the Adeptus Mechanicus will throw a bitchfit and come to recover US, the tanks and the Techpriests. A Stormblade Arkurian is one hell of a piece of tech to lose... Even more so than Vance Motherfucking Stubbs' 100 Baneblades." and she received a couple of glares from everyone. She shrugged carelessly, before pulling out her own copy of _The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer_ and reading some of it on the way to wherever they were going.

Meanwhile, outside the vehicle and on top of the Stormblade, Adrian looked through the binoculars he had with him at the surrounding area, making sure they were safe. In front of the tank column was the Chimera aboard which their two guests were, followed by the four others, the Stormblade in the middle and the Leman Russes in the back. Cocking his head back to see the complement of 10 heavy tanks, the boy counted them out as his Sergeants and Lance Corporal Clara kept eyes on the surrounding area. The column had two Leman Russ Vanquishers with the long-ass cannons, two Plasma Executioners, two Incinerators, two Punishers, a command tank assigned to the Lieutenant by order of Castellan Creed himself, the _Cadian Reaper_ Punisher with attached casemate-mounted Lascannon and twin-linked Plasma Turrets off to the side and, finally, a Leman Russ _ERADICATOR_ , or as it was fondly nicknamed by the Regiment, the Leman Russ Nuke Slingshot.

"Sure looks like we're loaded up on gear for it to last a while..." Adrian sighed, lowering his binoculars to his chest. Markath looked about and nodded, then said "Yeah. Whatever's in this world is going to have a hell of a BAD Day facing us." standing up and looking at the soldiers marching beside the tanks, on top of them and aboard the Chimeras and off on top of them of course. Those who were still on foot were less tired soldiers, Marina and her snipers(Scouting out through the forest off to the right) and the Kasrkin trainees assigned to the squad, all of them carrying Hotshot Lasguns and Hellguns as well as some Plasma and Melta guns.

Clara smirked, looking at Markath, then said "Hell of a world, eh? Looks like a dream world for any Imperial out to settle somewhere."

"It sure seems like it." Koris said, looking back at the advancing tanks calmly. "What do you guys think we're gonna find when we get to this 'Vale' place?"

"Warm food, soft beds and perhaps a place to store our vehicles in." Clara smirked, sitting down and leaning on her back, all whilst looking at the sky above her begin to clear as night also fell. "God-Emperor, I cannot wait for that!" And everyone hummed in agreement. Adrian kept his eyes locked on the road, which split off into two ahead... One climbing off to the right-hand-side, between hills and one going off straight down on the left... The lead vehicle moved toward the left side, choosing to climb the hill... So they were going atop a hill or cliff or mountain... Interesting.

It only took two more hours for the regiment to reach their target. Adrian watched as the soldiers leading the regiment held out the flag of the regiment and the Cadian planetary flag, together. He then scoped up the building complex they were going into. It was... Incredible... A tower residing in the middle of a very large complex, what looked like a bigger Schola Progenium, with several building blocks that seemed to house civilian bedrooms, for students. They were currently empty, as no light was turned on. The rest of the complex seemed incredible... Like an Imperial building in itself... Veering through behind a set of buildings, Adrian saw Amber and Qrow disembark, followed by the rest of the Regiment lining up and moving through. Qrow nodded to Adrian and waved him forward, to which he nodded and rushed toward him, with Markath, Koris and Clara close behind.

Looking back to his team-mates, he nodded to them, then said "Markath, Clara, stay behind and keep the troopers in check... I'll go through and talk with this place's leader... Koris, you're with me."

"SIR!" Saluted the three. Markath muttered to Clara as they ran "Again, I'm stuck with you..." To which she grinned and responded "You know it, Sarge!" quite smugly. Adrian nodded and started walking with Qrow, Amber and Koris toward the massive clocktower in the middle of the grounds. Going through what seemed like a plaza or garden, the group entered the tower and walked toward a set of three Elevators. After all boarded, Qrow looked to Koris and Adrian, then said "Now you too behave yourselves, kiddos. Oz is the Headmaster of this Huntsman school, one of the few that train our future defenders."

Adrian nodded and said "Don't worry about us... We're trained with respect in mind toward superiors. Even Schola masters."

"'Schola'...?" Qrow looked confused. Adrian nodded and said "It translates to Academy or local teaching institution in an older Cadian dialect." to which Qrow nodded, now cleared of his confusion. The man pulled out a flask after pressing the button and uncapped it, allowing for the smell of cheap alcohol to fill the nostrils of Adrian and Koris, the latter of which covered his nose. Qrow took a quick swig from the flask, then exhaled and said "Good stuff..."

Adrian and Koris merely exchanged glances calmly, then sighed. Adrian smiled and looked to Amber, to see her watching them rather curiously... Especially him. The elevator chimed and the doors slid apart, to reveal the large office at the top of the Clocktower. Walking through, Qrow smirked and extended his arms as a man clad in green, with grey hair, and a blonde woman clad in a teacher's outfit and cape similar to Qrow's swiveled about, then the old Drunkard Huntsman exclaimed "Guess who's back?"

Ozpin smiled, then said "Welcome Qrow, Amber..." And he glanced toward his two armored and armed guests "And you two, gentlemen... What are your names?" and to that Inquiry, he saw them snap two, pound their chests with their fists and straighten up. Adrian spoke up first, stern and proud "Schola Master, I am First Lieutenant Adrian Telos, of the 1st Cadian Youth Regiment."

"Sergent Ace Koris, same Regiment, sir. I serve as one of the LT's NCOs." Koris then completed with a smile. The Headmaster nodded and responded politely "A pleasure to meet you Lieutenant Telos, Sergeant Koris. I am Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy and the fair maiden beside me is Professor Glynda Goodwitch, my assistant and the finest combat instructor in Vale..." He paused "Also... Regiment?" He then asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee "Isn't a Colonel or someone of higher degree supposed to lead Regiments?"

Koris and Adrian looked to each-other, then the Lieutenant responded sadly "We lost our Colonel and other big officers back on Cadia... Alongside 3/4ths of our Regiment..." And he sighed "Perhaps we could sit down and explain to you our situation? We also have a few questions to ask ourselves, sir." staring at the man. Ozpin nodded and said "Why of course... Pick some seats and please tell me of your and your Regiment's exploits... Perhaps Amber and Qrow would like to attend?"

Amber smiled, then said "I'd love to hear of their adventures out there in the big unknown! These guys are space travelers, Headmaster! One of their troops told me so!" happily looking at both of them. She smirked mischievously, then looked to Telos and said "Quite cute ones, too..." making the young Lieutenant back off, a bit scared. He arranged his collar as he felt it try and choke him, then said "Uhm... Wow."

"Miss Amber, please..." Sighed Glynda, looking toward the girl. Amber's mischievous grin took on new proportions, then asked "Oh, come off it, teach. Don't tell me you ain't interested in where they came from too!" making Glynda scowl. The girl backed off, then said "Just kidding, Kidding teach!" as she hid behind Qrow. The old man sighed, taking another swig of his drink as the Lieutenant and Sergeant took their seats. Ozpin asked them politely "Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee for me, please... Black..." The Sergeant said calmly. Adrian shook his head and said "Nothing for me, sir, thank you."

Ozpin nodded, smiled and poured Koris his cup of coffee. He handed the young man his drink and examined each of them and their movements. Both of them seemed weary. They were scanning the room for ways out, or for ways to keep anyone that may try to attack them at bay. They seemed twitchy and very tired as well... By the Gods, what had gotten them like this? Ozpin sighed. He'd figure it out. "Now..." He looked to each of them.

" _Let's start with the beginning..._ "


	4. Setting up shop

"Upon being surrounded by Abaddon the Despoiler's forces, we made the sacrifice that bought time for the few other Regiments to evacuate, hopefully, throwing ourselves and some Chaos bastards into the Warp... And finally, it was this twist that sent us here..." Sighed Adrian, looking at the dog tags of three of the young ones they'd lost on Cadia. He sighed, then looked up toward Ozpin, to see the man's eyes wide in absolute respect, admiration, shock and terror. The story the boy had just told, the galaxy they hail from, the war they've fought in and the billions of losses sustained during campaigns, including his own 1500 Children of the Storm were an awing tale... Even the Space Marines he spoke of. The Ultramarines, the Blood Angels, the Blood Ravens, so on and so forth. And this entire 10,000 year old conflict Humanity in that galaxy lived through...

Miss Goodwitch was forced to sit down by the horrible revelations of the ten-thousand year old conflict that was ongoing in the Milky Way. She prayed in whisper that the continuous War would not find them there and Amber herself was sobbing, covering her mouth with her hands. Qrow, eyes wide, had already drunk through his entire flask, but was somewhat still sober as he spoke with a smirk on his face too "Damn... You kids have _some_ balls to go against the Chaos, Orks and what-have-you..."

Adrian merely grinned back, nodding to the man, then said "Standard-issue Munitorum Titanium-plated ceramite balls as some of us would say." making Qrow chuckle awkwardly, rubing the back of his neck. Koris had already finished his coffee, placing the cup on the table calmly. Ozpin coughed hoarsely, then said "And you seem unfazed by the fall of your very homeworld..."

"We knew Cadia would fall the moment the 14th Black Crusade happened. We held off 13 others, but this one just came as too much of a sudden strike." Koris admitted, sadly sighing. "We accepted our fate and chose to help with the evacuation of the Hive City we were in after all. By the Emperor, we weren't going to let our elderly and youngest die and we'd have gone into the Eye of Terror and back for them."

"You guys would've taken a leap of faith that big for your old folks and youngest kids?" Amber asked, her voice filled with respect.

"And they spoke of these Adeptus Astartes with such high regard... Do you think your sacrifice will be known?" Ozpin asked the boys. Adrian looked to the man, then said calmly "We aren't the Astartes, the Emperor's Angels of Death... We're His hammer. The Astartes are the shield and blade and the Emperors hands wield all of us. The death of one of us would be a shocking tragedy... The death of thousands or millions is just a Statistic."

Ozpin stared at him for a moment, chewing on the words the boy spoke so carelessly with dismay. How much had these kids seen to warrant such indifference to the fall of their own homes, to the deaths of their own. A ten thousand year war that probably killed hundreds, perhaps _thousands_ of times the current population of humanity on Remnant, with no end in sight. It was all just common occurrence for them right now. Ozpin could only be appalled and moved by the outstanding pride of humans like these. Alas, the Lieutenant and his subordinate didn't give off the feeling of careless commanders. Quite the opposite, really...

"I understand... It is disheartening that the place you come from has you thinking like that... But it is a sad truth that is how it is. If we can help with anything, you can tell us." Ozpin offered, to which the two boys looked to each-other. Adrian looked toward Ozpin and said "Well... We're kind of homeless now. We require a plot of land on which to build our camp and... Uhm, we saw some forestry not too far behind this place. Two separate forests with one big open area between them, a clearing enough to fit our regiment's current numbers."

"Won't you be seen if you guys stick out like that?" Amber asked, voicing Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch's thoughts by mistake.

Koris was swift to respond "We build our bases underground, usually. Several hundred feet, in fact, for them to act as bunkers and shield us from sight. The only things we build outside are elevators for our vehicles, defensive turrets and bunkers for when we have to fight and some storage things... Our Techpriests, the finest enginseers of the Imperium, should do well with preparing each and every structure. They help create the damn things."

Ozpin thought, then nodded and said "Please, take us to meet the rest of your unit. We may wish to speak to them."

Adrian nodded, stood up beside Koris, then said "Follow us, sir."

Going down and through the doors, into the courtyard, the group of six could hear a choir of voices singing calmly as the rhythmic beating of boots against concrete and stone sounded off. Walking through into the backside 'parking lot' of the School campus, they saw them. The Imperial Guard 1st Cadian Youth marching and singing softly a song known only to the Cadians and them alone. A marching song ancient as Cadia itself.

 ** _-Play Instrumental Battle Hymn of the Republic-_**

 _Mine eyes have seen the battlefields of gore and blood_

 _As I've dispelled the vilest wrath of our Darkest foes of old._

 _Through the night and battle of this longest, damnedest war,_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 _Battle-worn souls and spirits stand side by side,_

 _Against an ever-growing, encroaching, bloody, darkened tide!_

 _They chant, Armed with but a lasgun and their own, undeniable and holy pride,_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 _Born naught of steel and fire, but of blood and youthful hearts_

 _Since young age we were taught the finest, man's true arts,_

 _Of war and battle, Cadia stood forever strongest and won't soon fall!_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _Glory, Glory to our Emperor!_

 _His truth is calling all!_

 ** _-End song-_**

The pause in the song was followed by the thundering voice of young Sergeant Markath "ATEEN-HUT! LEFT FACE!" and five hundred boots stomping the ground and swiveling about, to greet the Lieutenant, Sergeant Koris, the Headmaster and their other 3 companions with salutes. Markath walked out from their front, with Clara following close behind. The Sergeant saluted again, then said to Ozpin and the others "Ah, hello. You must be the locals." And he nodded to Ozpin "The Schola Master and his..." He looked to Glynda "Adjutant and fellow teacher, I presume?"

"Indeed." Ozpin nodded. Glynda continued, a rather bit awed by the soldier-children... "You're Sergeant Colin Markath, aren't you?"

"At your service, sir, ma'am." Nodded the boy, looking at them. Ozpin looked about at the regiment, how stern and strangely trained these kids were... It reminded them of another nearby kingdom. Sighing, Ozpin nodded to the Sergeant, then said "A pleasure to meet you, sir... We were briefed about how your people have arrived here... And about a great many other items of interest to us, such as your 10,000 year old war..."

"They were naught but simple soldiers. No titans, nor heroes." Quoted Koris, keeping his Las pistol in its holster and arranging it. "A passage from the _Tactica Imperium_ referring to the Imperial Guard and its Ancestral military units. Aside from strategy, that book has some pretty deep ideals about us and our whole business as what the Imperium originally called _Astra Militarum._ "

"I'm seeing kids, not actual soldiers." Qrow mumbled in discontent. Adrian nodded and said "Finest kids you'll ever see. We're defending humanity since birth, buddy." in retort. Ozpin looked to Adrian and said "You said you desire to wish the clearing in the Emerald Forest as a territory for your base? I have perhaps a better idea for a base location... Underground and safe, but closer to Beacon."

After Clara joined them and received information about what their current standing with the locals was, the command section formed of the Lieutenant, Sergeants and Clara herself, was discussing their next move. They could either take the base location that was close-by, or attempt to move out into unknown territory for them. The Professor must've had a reason to suggest a close location...

"You sure, Lt? We could just take that position in the forest, save us the shitfest of having to dig near by the school." Clara asked, looking at Adrian. The Lieutenant shrugged, then looked back to Ozpin and asked "Just how close are we speaking here? When your academy begins its hours we won't be able to perform our training. Aside from that, why would the Emerald Forest as you called it not be suitable?"

Ozpin looked to the boy, then calmly responded "It is filled to the brim with the creatures our people fight... The Creatures of Grimm..."

"Whatever they are, compared to Abaddon and his troops, I imagine they're nothing more than pussycats." Koris spoke, drawing his las pistol and sword. Adrian nodded and said "We've faced worse, that's true. But let's not underestimate the creatures' strength. Send in our two Incinerator tanks with the building crews..." He turned toward Sergeant Markath and spoke sternly "Markath, I want you personally there to supervise the construction."

The military boy saluted, then said "By the Emperor, it shall be done, post-haste!"

Adrian looked back toward the armored column, then barked toward the rest of the Regiment "Line'em up, First Reg! We're moving out to secure ourselves a fancy ol' base location not so far away from this little schola! Now, I'm sorry for asking this of you so early after our latest trip, but I want half of you kitted out and ready to move with the Adeptus Mechanicus Techpriests! I trust they've brought their own tools and construction materials."

"We've done so, Lieutenant. We will finish the main structure within a night by our calculations. The barracks as well... Then we will focus on the Mars Pattern Command for the tanks to be housed in." Illuminate reported calmly, shocking Ozpin's entire entourage from Beacon as he revealed himself and his fellow Techpriests. The half-metal, half-human creatures approached Adrian, then the Illuminate said "May we suggest adding a Punisher to the unit sent to guard me and my Techpriests? It may so be required as to keep us all alive... I've found traces of the local Fauna, these 'Grimm'... Malicious signals indeed... With a hint of a known power to us..."

Adrian sighed, then simply nodded "Yeah. We'll get Punisher-2 with you as well as Inferno-1 and -2." to which Illuminate hummed, then looked toward Ozpin and the others and said "We are of the Adeptus Mechanicus... Half-man, half-machine. And we've chosen this path for ourselves, for we believe in the Omnissiah and in the Omnissiah's teachings alone. We align with the Emperor's beliefs much like the normal human aligns to ours."

"We're wasting time." Adrian said "I want us bunked up and ready for instant deployment whenever required, Illuminate..." He then looked to Ozpin and finished "We shall continue talks, professor... I'll leave Markath do his own thing. Clara will accompany him and Koris will stay here on officer duty." And he looked to his command squad "Ready?"

"AYE!" cried the unit. Adrian nodded, then said "EXECUTE!"

Under everyone's gazes, the regiment broke apart, half moving alongside the road with the trio of requested tanks, the other half preparing themselves to rest. It was an awe-inducing sight to see children of these ages moving about, armed to the teeth and preparing for the worst. To think the universe they came from had dozens, if not hundreds of such Regiments...

Ozpin sighed as Adrian walked beside them. The young boy said "Shall we continue our talks, professor? Perhaps let ms. Amber and mr. Branwen rest?"

"Yes..." nodded Ozpin...

That would be for the betterment of all of them.


End file.
